by Larry Payne
The two men shook hands and Magnus introduced the Admiral to his companions before they all took seats around the big table. William then told Magnus why he’d sent for him.
“That sounds like the military’s problem, Admiral,” said Magnus.
William nodded his head. “It is, but some of the places we’d have to go ain’t too friendly to the military since the war. Besides, the military has restrictions, if you catch my drift.”
Magnus looked around the table at his companions.
“We’re looking for Kai, anyway,” said Kalar.
“Kill two birds with one stone,” said Armond.
Trace sat rubbing his chin. “You say this ship just vanished, Admiral?”
“Like it was sucked up into a big black hole,” replied William.
“What about a hijacking?”
William shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t see how, Trace. Excalibur was heavily armed with state of the art weaponry. Any ship with thoughts of boarding her would have been vaporized into space dust. Besides, she would have sent a message to Delta Station.”
“Maybe it happened so fast, they didn’t have time to react,” said Kalar.
Trace chewed on the unlit cigar stub and rolled it to the other side of his mouth. “All it would take is a plant on the inside. And Mondo Kai might be just the one who could pull it off.”
“It’s a little far fetched, but I guess it’s possible,” said William. He turned to Magnus. “Quentin, I sent for you to see if you could find out what happened to Excalibur. Now I want to know if Kai has her.”
Magnus looked around the table at each of his companions. His gaze fell on the freighter last. Trace removed the cigar stub from his mouth. “I can take you to his compound, but there’s no guarantee he’ll be there,” he said.
“There is something else you need to know,” said William. “Excalibur has cloaking capabilities.”
“So we could possibly go right by her and not know it,” said Kalar.
William paused for a moment. “But she has to uncloak to fire her weapons or launch any spacecraft.”
“Anything else?” asked Magnus.
“She can’t raise her force fields until she’s fully uncloaked.”
“If Kai has your ship, he’s not gonna give it up easy,” said Trace.
“Quentin,” said William, “we must get Excalibur out of his hands. Even if it means destroying her.”
Chapter 12
Mondo Kai was out of his seat when the shuttle touched down on the tarmac surrounding the Black Fist compound. Before the engines were shut down and secured, he was through the cockpit hatch and down the shuttle ramp. He hurried through the compound’s gate where Rena stood waiting for him in the doorway of the house.
“Get your things,” Kai said as he shouldered past her.
Rena followed Kai into the bedroom and watched him hastily throw belongings into a leather travel bag. “You did it, didn’t you?” she asked. “Stole a Star Cruiser right out from under their noses.”
“Get your things,” repeated Kai. “I’ll give you all the beautiful details when we’re away from here. Take only what you need. We can get anything else later.”
Sando appeared in the doorway with a duffel bag over his shoulder. “Find Ali Rongo and send him here, then get everyone else into the shuttle,” said Kai.
Rena pulled packed bags from the closet and set them on the floor. “You’re serious about this mad scheme of Black Fist ruling the galaxy, aren’t you?”
A smile crossed Kai’s face. “A mad scheme? Not any longer. I have enough firepower now to make worlds bow to me.”
“You’re power mad,” said Rena. “These worlds will fear and hate you. They will fight you. Then, you’ll be fighting on two fronts. You think the Federation is going to let you just walk off with a Star Cruiser? They’re probably looking for you right now.”
Kai grabbed the bags from the bed. “That’s why we have to leave. Now. By the time they find this place we’ll be long gone.”
“Sooner or later, they will find you. Then, they will extinguish the flames on this madness.”
“Madness? Is that what you think this is?” Kai’s menacing tone made Rena take a step back. “When I found you, you were locked in a room like a child.” He leaned in toward her. “Look at you now, living like royalty. Because I,” he pounded his chest with his fist, “Mondo Kai, made it so.”
Rena leaned toward the big man, almost touching noses with him. “Your lust for power will kill you,” she said barely above a whisper.
“Bring your things with you,” Kai said and stormed from the room. Ali Rongo rose from his chair when Kai appeared in the hall.
“We must leave before the ship is spotted,” Kai said as he passed Rongo.
“You didn’t cloak her?”
Kai stopped and turned back toward Rongo. “What?”
“She can be cloaked. You can leave her up there all week and no one would see her. But, you have to uncloak her to fire weapons or launch spacecraft.”
“Get everyone ready to leave. We’ll depart as soon as everyone is aboard,” said Kai. Rongo turned to leave. “You’ve been a valuable asset to me, Ali. I will not forget that.”
“Just doing what’s asked,” replied Rongo. “All will be ready within the hour.”
* * * *
The Freelancers left two days later for Targus, where Trace would lead them to the Black Fist compound. But, he asked Magnus to first make a stop at Gantis III where he’d left his freighter.
Trace led them onto his ship and into the cockpit where he pulled up a trap door behind the pilot’s chair. Down on one knee, he reached down into the compartment below and brought up an object wrapped in lubriskin. He unwrapped a blaster rifle and held it up for all to see.
“This is what Kai was after when you dropped in on his little party,” he said. “The latest in auto blaster rifles, not even in circulation yet.”
“Where did you get these?” asked Armond as he examined the weapon he’d been handed.
Trace smiled at him. “That, my friend, is a trade secret. I have one for everyone if you want it.”
Magnus took a rifle from Trace. “Very light and compact.”
“And a bigger power pack in a smaller weapon, state of the art.” Trace reached back under the floor and hauled up a crate containing the rifles. He unwrapped them, one by one, and handed them to each of his companions. Qwee hesitated taking the rifle.
“Qwee, you’d better take it. That oversized knife you carry won’t do you much good in a firefight and we’re gonna need all the help we can get,” said Trace. Reluctantly, the Jebhari took the weapon.
Trace reached below the floor once more and brought out bandoliers of power cells, handing two to each of them. He put the rest of the bandoliers into a big cloth sack and set them aside before putting the lid back on the crate. He slid it neatly back under the floor and replaced the trap door.
Trace stood up and rolled the ever-present cigar stub to the opposite corner of his mouth. “Now, let’s go see if Kai has this starship.”
Chapter 13
Magnus had forgotten how stifling the heat and humidity was on the jungle planet until they stepped through the sliding double doors of the Targus spaceport.
Armond Juncker walked behind Magnus. “You’re kiddin’me, right?” Armond complained as he adjusted the straps of his backpack across his shoulders. He looked over at Basko Zarr walking beside him. “You’re seriously going to wear that coat?”
The old man looked down at his coat, then back at Armond and smiled. Armond could only shake his head.
They entered the jungle shortly after leaving the spaceport and perspiration quickly darkened their shirts as they hacked their way through the dense foliage. Magnus called a halt when they reached a small clearing. “Take a break,” he said. “No use killing ourselves in this heat.”
Kalar dropped heavily to the jungle floor and took a canteen from a pocket of her backpack. “Is
it like this all the way to the compound?”
“Only to the river,” replied Trace. “Then there’s a trail that will take us the rest of the way.”
Armond slapped his neck. “How far to the river?”
“We should reach the river by tonight, but we won’t cross ‘til morning. We’ll camp in a clearing nearby.”
Movement in the jungle caught the attention of Magnus. A bushy head popped up, first in one place and then another. Never exposing itself for long. “I think we’re being watched.”
“Mukmows,” replied Trace without looking up. “The local natives. They call this steam bath home. They’re little ugly fellas with bushy hair all over their heads. Big, flat noses mashed on their faces and big pointed teeth that will rip your throat out at their first opportunity. They’re out lookin’ for a main course for supper and we’re on the menu.”
“I take it you’ve run into them before.”
Trace looked up at Magnus. “Yeah, I ran into ‘em before. Don’t think I’ll ever forget it neither. Remind me to tell you about it sometime.”
Magnus patted the freighter’s shoulder and stood up. “Be alert, people, we’ve attracted visitors.”
Qwee moved up beside his friend. “Took you long enough to spot them. They been following us for a while.”
“Seems we’re the objects of their affections,” replied Magnus.
He got everyone up and moving again amid groans and complaints. The Mukmow soon grew quite unnerving as they darted around the jungle, never revealing themselves, except for an occasional bushy head disappearing back into the dense cover that sometimes attracted a burst or two from a blaster.
As the light filtering through the jungle canopy dimmed, the Freelancers came out into a small clearing. “We’ll stop here tonight,” said Trace. “The river is just ahead.”
He strode to the center of the clearing and dropped his gear. “We’ll keep a clear field of vision all around us so the little brutes can’t sneak up on us.”
Magnus recruited Armond and Basko to collect dried brush, vines and tree limbs and soon a fire was blazing in the middle of the clearing.
“I can’t believe we eat this stuff. We can fly light years in seconds, but we can’t figure out how to make a decent portable meal,” said Armond, looking into his field rations package.
“We survived on this stuff during the war,” said Kalar. “Actually, they’re not that bad.”
“That’s a matter of opinion,” replied Armond. Kalar chuckled as she watched Armond spoon the first bite of his meal into his mouth.
Magnus finished the last of his meal and threw the crumpled package into the fire. “We’ll post watches every two hours. I’ll take…”
“No,” interrupted Trace, “you sleep. I’ll watch the night.”
Magnus looked over at Trace. “All night?”
“I don’t sleep when I’m in the jungle, remember? Might not wake up.”
“Just make sure you wake us at dawn.”
“I’ll be whispering sweet nothings in your ear before the light gets in your eyes.” Trace winked at Magnus.
“You sure you’ll be alright?”
“I have my big boy pants on. I’ll be fine, mother.”
Trace threw his cigar stub into the fire, pulled a fresh cigar from an inside vest pocket and lit it with a flaming twig. He checked the power gauge on his rifle and disappeared into the night.
Magnus waited a few minutes and followed him from the firelight, finding the freighter nestled up against a tree. “You shouldn’t be wandering around in the dark,” said Trace.
“Tell me about it,” said Magnus, sitting down next to him.
Trace took another cigar from his vest and handed it to Magnus. He looked out into the night and took a long draw on his own cigar while Magnus lit his.
“Kai wanted to talk to me about hauling some cargo for him. A couple of guides turned me down before I found one that would lead me through the jungle to the Black Fist compound. It was in this clearing that we stopped for the night and made camp.”
Sweat started to roll down his face. “They caught us while we was sleepin’. It seemed like they was comin’ up out of the ground. I managed to fight off the little hellions and get to my feet. I was too busy trying to save my own hide to help the guide when they dragged him off screamin’ into the jungle.”
Trace wiped his face with his sleeve. “Then, as quick as they come, they was gone.” He snapped his fingers. “They left me battered and bloody, but I was alive. The guide screamed for an hour after, then it got all quiet. Eerie quiet. Not a peep from nothin’. I’ll never close my eyes in this jungle again. Ever. I don’t care how many times I come here.”
He wiped the sweat from his face and took a long draw on his cigar and looked out into the night. He could barely see the movement at the edge of the clearing. He nudged Magnus. “We got company.”
Magnus looked around and put his rifle in his lap.
“Mukmow, straight ahead at the edge of the clearing,” said Trace, directing his leader’s gaze with a nod of his head.
Magnus managed to focus on the bushy heads creeping from the jungle toward the quiet camp. He picked up the blaster rifle from his lap.
“On three,” whispered Trace, “anything moving in the clearing.” Magnus nodded in acknowledgement.
“One…”
“Two…”
“Three!”
They lit the clearing up with a barrage of blaster fire. The camp awakened instantly and brought their weapons, blindly, into the fracas. The firefight lasted only a minute before the Mukmow fled frantically back into the jungle, leaving others lying scattered around the clearing.
“They won’t stop runnin’ ‘til daylight,” said Trace with a smile and they walked back toward the campfire.
“That’s a hell of a way to let us know we had visitors,” scolded Armond.
“Didn’t have time to give you an invitation,” said Trace, chewing on his cigar.
He patted Magnus on the arm, shouldered his blaster rifle and returned to his post, leaving the camp to return to a restless calm.
Chapter 14
A shake of his shoulder awakened Magnus at the crack of dawn. “Rise and shine, sweetheart,” said Trace.
While their comrades ate breakfast, they walked to the edge of the clearing to inspect the damage they’d inflicted during the night.
“Ugly little guys, ain’t they?” said Magnus as they surveyed the carnage.
“Ain’t very pleasant to look at, that’s for sure,” replied Trace. “I doubt if we’ll see them again anytime soon.”
They returned to the camp to find breakfast almost finished and backpacks being rearranged for the next leg of the journey. After eating the plate saved for him, Magnus poured the remaining coffee in the pot onto the smoking embers of the fire and stirred them around before he followed the rest of the group into the jungle.
A short trek brought them out to the river’s edge and they stood for a moment, scanning the opposite bank of the slow moving river.
“The river’s only about waist deep, so it shouldn’t be a difficult crossing,” Trace said.
“We’ll cross in single file. You lead the way,” Magnus replied.
Magnus waited on the bank while Kalar followed Trace into the river. He waved Basko and Armond at intervals behind them and then stepped into the river himself ahead of Qwee.
Magnus was at mid-stream when he saw a swirl in the water beside him and felt a brush against his leg. He heard Qwee yell and turned in time to see the Jebhari disappear below the surface of the water. He waved everyone across the river and waded back to where Qwee went under.
Suddenly, the big man rose from the water with an Anapyth wrapped around his waist, holding the snakelike creature at arm’s length. He bobbed his head as it struck at him and, in a flash, removed his left hand from the snake’s body and grabbed it behind the head before it could recoil. He completed the stranglehold with his right hand be
fore they sank back below the surface.
Magnus watched the water boil for what seemed like an eternity and then it stopped. The Jebhari broke the surface once again with the Anapyth still coiled around him. He slipped his knife back into the scabbard on his waist, threw the headless end of the snake over his shoulder and continued across the river.
“I needed something edible,” he said when he passed Magnus, leaving him laughing out loud as he followed the Jebhari from the river.
A dripping Qwee stepped onto the riverbank, uncoiled the snake from around his waist and dropped it amid his companions.
“Sorry, Qwee, I forgot to warn you about the Anapyths in the river,” apologized Trace.
“Are these things good to eat?” asked Magnus.
“Actually, they’re quite good,” replied Trace.
“Good, we’ll take a break here,” said Magnus. “It’ll give us a chance to dry out. We’ll cook the snake and take it with us.”
“It’ll sure be nice to eat something that don’t come in a bag,” quipped Armond.
Trace built a fire while Kalar and Armond filleted the Anapyth. He then wrapped the cooked snake in plastifilm amd gave a healthy share to each of them.
“Saddle up, people, we ain’t getting’ no younger,” said Magnus as he slipped into the straps of his backpack.
It was dusk when Trace dropped his gear in the middle of a small clearing. “We’re here,” he said and led Magnus to the edge of the jungle while the rest of the group got comfortable.
“Kai’s got Excalibur,” said Trace after surveying the tarmac around the compound.
“How do you know?” asked Magnus.
Trace removed the cigar from his teeth and pointed the end of it toward a vacant area at the back of the compound. “There was almost a squadron of war surplus spacecraft back there. And four sentries usually walk the tarmac with one at the gate. How many do you see?”
Magnus scanned the area around the compound and turned back to Trace. “A skeleton security force. I think he’s moved his operation aboard Excalibur.”
